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Mayor Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums are marking the sixth anniversary of 9/11 by making it easier for the Bay Area’s first responders to deal with emergencies. Today, they announced the creation of the "Bay Area Interoperable Communications Initiative" which will give police, firefighters and other law enforcement agencies the ability to communicate on the same radio frequency during a major disaster.
First responders throughout the cities and counties of the Bay Area have been hampered by their inability to talk with each other on the same radio frequency during critical events or disasters, relying instead on a patchwork of dispatchers and systems. In New York City on 9/11 first responders and the victims of the attack suffered from just such a lack of communication. The Oakland firestorm and the Loma Prieta earthquake also highlighted the inadequacies of the current system.
The "Bay Area Interoperable Communications Initiative" will establish the nation’s largest urban area collaboration to allow local public safety agencies to communicate in real time on a dedicated channel. This new regional network will provide voice and data interoperabililty — further improving the way in which emergency officials respond to future disasters.
The initial costs of the radio system are being paid for with federal homeland security grants.
The roll out of the new network could begin next year and is estimated for completion in 2010.
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